


Take Me Away, My Thief

by Damian422



Category: EXO (Band), K-pop
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Angst, Arranged Marriage, Fugitives, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, One-Sided Attraction, maybe a little chenlay, maybe a little kyunglay, slight xiuchen, slight xiuhan, some Krisho, some smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-04
Updated: 2017-08-27
Packaged: 2018-09-28 08:27:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 25
Words: 18,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10081430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Damian422/pseuds/Damian422
Summary: On the night prince Baekhyun is betrothed to the ruthless Emperor Kyungsoo, he catches a thief in the act inside his palace. Baekhyun wants to get out so he strikes a deal with the thief. "Take me with you or I call the guards".On the other hand, Emperor Kyungsoo has been turning his small country into a massive empire in order to make himself worthy of Baekhyun's hand and will do anything to have the love of his life by his side.





	1. Chapter 1

“What?”

“Your highness, your father, the king, wanted me to tell you that in 30 days you will be married to Emperor Kyungsoo…”

Baekhyun stared blankly at his servant, “There must be a mistake. I refuse to get married!”

The servant bowed down in front of Baekhyun “Your highness, the king has made his order, defying it would be punishable by death”

“Then I’d rather die!” he screamed at the messenger.

“Your highness please! It’s for the good of the kingdom!” he begged.

“I’m his only son! How could he do this to me!?!” Baekhyun started pacing around anxiously around the room “I need to be alone” He stormed out into the hall. Tears flowed down his face, he headed towards the throne room. 

*clang* “Shit”

That sounded like it came from one of the guest rooms. Baekhyun wiped his tears and changed his course. Inside was a tall masked man in black putting treasure into a sack. The man looked at him and shushed him, putting the sack down gently and pulling out a blade. “Call the guards and I can’t guarantee your safety.” He had a deep voice.

“Take me with you and I won’t have you arrested”

“What?”

“Take me with you when you leave the palace and I won’t have you arrested for breaking into the palace and stealing treasure, I’ll even give you extra from my room”

“Why are you asking me this?”

“I have my reasons, do we have a deal?”

The man was quiet for a moment “I’ll take you with me on one condition”

“Which is?”

“If I think you’re slowing me down, I am allowed to abandon you”

“Fair enough, I won’t slow you down”

The man handed Baekhyun his sack “Let’s go to your room”

The two men went to Baek’s room. The man stood by the door, keeping lookout while Baekhyun put his stuff into the bag. The man showed Baekhyun how he got in using the servants’ passageway. Outside a black horse was waiting for Baekhyun and the other man. 

“Is it alright if I get mine?”

“I’m leaving now, I am not waiting for you” he ties the sack to the saddle.

Baekhyun stared at him quietly, “fine”, he climbed up onto the horse. The man climbed on behind him and galloped off. As they were running away, a horn sounded signaling an intrusion. “Hurry they know you’re here!”

“No shit” The horse galloped faster away.

Guards were chasing them. The man pulled something from another bag on his saddle. He lifted his mask to reveal a handsome face. He bit down on the flint plating on his teeth to make a spark before throwing the bomb behind them. That bought them enough time to get away before the gates closed. Baekhyun looked back at the palace with a melancholic gaze as they galloped off.

 

The found a cave on the outskirts of the country. The man took a bunch of blankets off the saddle and laid it on the cave floor. “Thanks for getting me out of there...Sorry I never caught your name…”

“Names are useless for men like me, people make connections and build attachments when they can put a name to a face” He leaned back on the makeshift bed.

“I still have to call you something, You can call me Baekhyun”

“Call me...Sir”

“Sir?”

“Yes and if you’re going to be around me, I don’t want anyone recognizing you as the prince so you need a new name”

“Like what?”

“Anything that’s not your actual name or gives hints to your royal blood”

Baekhyun leaned against the cave wall and thought “hmm...How about….Eun!”

“Sounds good Eun”

“Kim Wang Eun”

“Just Eun is enough”

“Okay… Where am I supposed to sleep?”

Sir turned on his side and patted next to him “Either here or on a rock in this cave”

“I see...you must’ve not been expecting an extra person like me…” He laid down next to Sir. “Can you still tell me your real name since you already know mine?”

“You really want to know?”

Baekhyun nodded, “Can I see your face too?”

Sir looked at him but removed the cloth covering the lower half of his face “My name is...Mind your own business and go the fuck to sleep” He put the cloth aside and turned, facing away from Baekhyun.

Baekhyun scoffed “Well goodnight to you, mr. Mind-your-own-business-and-go-the-fuck-to-sleep” He turned away and tried to sleep.

 

Not even ten minutes later, Baek turned again, trying to get comfortable. He changed position again not too long after that. Finding a comfortable position to sleep in was a challenge. He was used to comfy beds filled with the finest down.

Sir pulled Baekhyun so that his head was on the thief’s chest, “Your tossing and turning is keeping me awake. Now go to sleep!”

Baekhyun’s cheeks turned pink but stayed quiet and he was finally able to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, Baekhyun woke up to the smell of a fire and meat cooking. He got up off the ground and walked over. Sir was roasting two small birds over the campfire. “Smells good”

“Thanks, caught some doves for us”

“Doves?”

“Yeah”

“I see…” He sat down next to Sir.

Sir took the birds off the spit. He slid one of them onto another stick and handed it to Baekhyun “Here”

“Thanks” he took a bite of the bird “Wow it’s good!”

Sir chuckled “And here I was worried that you’d complain about how it’s not stag”

“I don’t complain that much” He pouted.

“We’ll see about that” he drank water from a flask

“Can I have some?” Sir silently handed him the flask “Thanks” He drank some before it got snatched 

“We have to ration this until we get to the next town so don’t drink too much”

“Yes sir...” He went back to eating.

Sir smirked at the name and went back to eating.

 

When they were done, Sir and Baekhyun packed everything up. “Will I get my own horse at the next town?”

“If you can steal one, sure”

“But won’t we get a lot of money from selling my treasure?”

“That’s for necessities only. If you can’t eat it, drink it, use it to treat illnesses or heal wounds, then don’t waste money on it. Just take it and don’t get caught”

“I see...are you gonna teach me how to steal?”

“Sure...but I won’t repeat myself so learn quickly”

“Of course”

“There’s other things you must know.”

“Like what?”

“First rule, don’t tell anyone your real name, or any personal information really. Second rule, cover your face, we can’t have anyone recognize you. Third, be a commoner, don’t dress too flashy, don’t expect anyone to do anything for you and remember, you’re nothing to those people.”

“Understood”

“If you don’t know what to do, follow my lead”

“Yes Sir”

“Good” Sir handed Baekhyun a bandana, folded like his mask.

Baekhyun tied it around his face, “Like this?”

Sir nodded.

 

The town had a bustling market. Sounds of merchants advertising their products and various animal sounds can be heard coming in all directions. Baekhyun looked around in awe “Wow...I’ve never seen anything like this…”

“You’ve never been to a marketplace?”

“This is the first time I ever left the palace”

“That’s a shame, the world’s beautiful outside the palace walls”

“No kidding…” Baekhyun felt something tug on his pant leg and saw a tiny puppy “awww Sir can we keep it? It’s so cute!” He crouched down to play with it.

“We can’t afford another mouth to feed, we barely have enough for you”

“Awww” Baekhyun pouted, scratching the pup behind it’s ear, “Goodbye little guy” He stood up. The puppy whined and tugged on Baekhyun’s pant leg again. “Siirr, please”

Sir stared at the dog, “Fine but you’re responsible for it.”

Baekhyun smiled under his mask, “Yay!” He picked up the puppy and it licked his face.

Sir smiled under his mask fondly at Baekhyun’s antics, “cute” he said under his breath.

They sold Baekhyun’s royal treasures and used it to buy supplies.

“What should we name him sir?”

“Don’t ask me”

“How about...Yeol? That’s a cute name isn’t it?”

Sir stared at Baekhyun with wide eyes, “Where did you hear that name?”

“Don’t know, just thought it sounds like a cute name”

Sir gave Baekhyun a side eyes look “...I guess it is…”

Baekhyun looked at Sir, “Why do you ask? Do you know someone named Yeol?”

“Yeah...but he’s dead now…” He turned away and kept walking.

“...sorry to hear that…”

Sir kept walking “take my horse and meet me at the creek”

“Uhh…”

Sir walked up to a tethered grey horse, untied it and hopped on it, riding away on it.

An angry man yelled at him and tried to chase after him. Baekhyun ran with the supplies and the puppy in his arms to where Sir’s horse was. He loaded everything onto it and rode off to find Sir.

 

Baekhyun rode upstream until he saw Sir. The man got off the gray mare and led her over to Baekhyun and his horse. “Here’s your horse, Eun”

“Oh thanks Sir”

“Don’t mention it, riding with you in front is a pain for me too”

“Sorry…”

“Don’t be, now get off my Toben”

Baekhyun quickly got off “wait, Toben?”

Sir took Toben’s reigns “What, I named my horse, names are only useless for people…”

Baekhyun looked at Sir and Toben, “Are they really though if a man gets lonely?”

“I don’t get lonely, get rid of that idea”

“Then why name your only friend?”

“If I called, ‘horse’, all horses in the area would come to me so I gave him a name to know I meant only him”

“I still think you’re a hypocrite”

“There’s a spider on your leg by the way” 

Baekhyun screamed and started swatting at his pants, all his panic made him fall into the creek. “Gah! Help me! I can’t swim! Help! Help!”

“Just stand up”

“Ah ah! Help!” Baekhyun floundered. Yeol jumped around in the shallow stream barking playfully.

Sir started laughing, it was a loud booming laugh.

Baekhyun sat up and looked around. He face palmed “I’m an idiot…”

Sir laughed “Hahaha Yeah you are haha!”

Baekhyun picked up Yeol, embarrassed and got out of the water.

 

The two rode on to their next destination.


	3. Chapter 3

Kyungsoo read the letter angrily. “Find out who did this! Bring Baekhyun back!” He demanded.

“Yes my lord” a servant bowed.

“I want the kidnapper to hang!”

“I assure you he will my lord”

“No, I want to behead him myself!” He ripped the letter telling him of his fiance’s abduction.

“Of course my lord”

“Don’t just kneel there and say ‘Yes my lord’! Find the man who did this and bring me his beaten bloody body!”

“Yes my lord” the servant got up and ran out.

“I’m not going to let all my efforts go to waste, Baekhyun will be mine. I waited years for this!” he gripped the edges of his desk. He flipped it over and stormed to his armory to get started on polishing his weapons and armor.

“Your highness?”

“What?!” he glared at his advisor.

“Are you sure you want to wait for this marriage? We could easily conquer them”

“No! I don’t give a flying fuck about that country, I only want the prince”

“May I ask-”

“No, no you may not.” Kyungsoo interrupted his advisor.

“Yes my lord” his advisor bowed and walked away. He went to a group of scared servants.

“What has upset our emperor?”

“His fiance has been kidnapped and he wants to kill whoever did it.”

“I have never seen him so angry…”

“Even when I accidentally made his chicken too dry…”

“May god have mercy on the man that kidnapped his fiance…”

‘Don’t say that, he might kill you too!”

“Eep! I don’t want to die!”

“Get him some tea after he blows off some steam, he should calm down by then”

“Yes sir!” the servants scattered.


	4. Chapter 4

Baekhyun gave some of his grilled fish to Yeol. Yeol barked happily and ate it. He had grown during the weeks Baekhyun traveled with Sir.

Sir just watched them, eating his own fish. “You still haven’t told me why you wanted to leave the palace.”

“Huh, oh...I’d rather not talk about it...you’d probably laugh…”

“Let me guess, got a servant girl pregnant”

“What? No!”

“Killed a nobleman’s pet deer”

“I never left the palace”

“Killed the queen”

“She’s my mother! Of course not!”

“King died and don’t want to be king”

“My father is in perfect health!”

“Upcoming Rebellion?

“No, the people love my father. Can you stop this?!”

“Unwanted arranged marriage?”

“I’m not answering that”

“Who’s it to?”

“Stop it”

“What will you do if I don’t?

“I’ll turn you over to the authorities”

“They’ll take you back to the palace and to your worried fiancee”

Baekhyun flinched “Just drop the subject. You don’t see me asking you why you became a bandit so don’t ask me why I wanted to give up my title”

“Fine.” They ate in silence for a while and stayed quiet as they went to sleep on opposite sides of the camp. 

The next morning they packed up and left. Not saying a single word to the other.


	5. Chapter 5

They got to the next target, a nobleman’s home in a country far from Baekhyun’s home. Sir taught him how to climb the vines up to the window. Once inside, they snuck past guards and put the foreign treasures in the sack. Baekhyun picked up a gilded wooden figure. “Sir...I know who lives here...I made Jongdae this gift for his birthday...I can’t steal from him…”

Sir snatched it from him, “He’s not your friend anymore, you’re a fugitive now, you can’t go soft now”

“Please sir, let’s steal from a different house. There are plenty of choices. Please, I’m begging you”

“We’re doing this to survive Eun”

“I know but...him, really?”

“He won’t notice”

“But what if he does?”

“shh , do you hear that?”

Footsteps were coming closer “Is anyone there?” called out a man’s voice

“Shit” Sir cursed under his breath

“I can get us out of this” Baekhyun whispered.

“Let’s just go” Sir took Baekhyun and they climbed out the window.

Jongdae came in and saw Baekhyun’s figurine on the ground, he picked it up, “wind must’ve blown it off the shelf...” he looked at it. “Baek, please be okay. I miss you my friend...I hope you come back and Soo treats you well…” he placed it back on the shelf and left, hardly noticing that anything’s missing.

“Jongdae...”

Sir climbed downwards “Eun, let’s go”

Baekhyun looked down, “Yes sir”, he climbed down too. He looked back at his friend’s home and went with Sir to burglarize another noble.


	6. Chapter 6

Baekhyun was washing himself in a hot spring close to his and Sir’s camp. He sat there, thinking aloud, “Oh, it’s Spring again, that means my birthday is coming up...I wonder when Sir’s is...how old is he even? I’ve traveled with him for months and yet I don’t even know what to get him...I think he’s in his early twenties...What do I know about him...I know his favorite food is duck and mango...He likes soju...he has a soft spot for animals...especially dogs...he’s a good fighter...I wonder where he learned to fight like that...did he teach himself or did he have a mentor...was it the Yeol he knew? Who was he? Does Sir have a family? Where are they? Where is he from? Wow...I had no idea I knew so little...I wonder how much he knows about me...I should probably stop talking to myself...”

“You should”

Baekhyun turned to look and he saw Sir come in with just a towel around his waist. He couldn’t take his eyes off of him.

“You know a lot about me it sounds like and I know too much about you”

“What do you mean?”

“I know you’re a prince named Baekhyun who desperately wanted to avoid an arranged marriage. You like cute things and warm tea. You have a dog named Yeol and a horse named Tae. You’re from Byu. You like archery and carving wood. And your favorite food is pheasant and pears but you can’t stand cucumbers. Your eyes are very expressive and your laugh is infectious. You have delicate hands that remain soft even after shooting arrows and carving wood all day....ignore that last part.”

“Whoa…”

Sir took his towel off and joined Baekhyun “aahhh, it feels so good”

Baekhyun stared, primarily at Sir’s scarred torso, “How did you get those scars?”

“I got into a lot of fights when I started this career”

“I see...Where are you from?”

“It’s gone now”

“Really?”

“Conquered by the Deo Empire”

“I see...Is your family okay?”

Sir looked down “They were all killed, I barely made it out in time”

“I’m sorry to hear that” he put his hand on Sir’s shoulder. 

Sir shook it off “Don’t pity me”

“I wasn’t”

“You’re a liar, Eun”

Baekhyun sat silently, “How long ago-”

“I don’t want to talk about it” Sir interrupted.

“...Is there anything you want for your birthday?”

“Don’t bother”

“Are you sure? Can you at least tell me when it is? Mine’s near the end of spring”

“...Mine’s near the end of fall”

“I see”

“Why do you want to know so much about me?”

“I figured since we’re friends, we should know about each other”

“I see” Sir smiled a bit.

“I should get going, I’m starting to prune”

“It was nice talking to you...Baekhyun…”

Baekhyun smiled and climbed out of the spring.


	7. Chapter 7

Baekhyun was pushed onto the ground, he tried to get up but his opponent pinned him down.

“If it weren’t me, you would’ve died Eun” he got up.

“I doubt that, even if it was you, you would’ve killed me”

“Haha true! You’re smarter than I thought!”

Baekhyun took this opportunity to tackle him but Sir wrestled him to the ground.

“Nice try Eun but you were too obvious, I saw it coming”

“You see everything coming!” Baekhyun struggled.

“Try being unpredictable” he kissed Baekhyun’s forehead.

Baekhyun laid there as Sir got up, shocked at that sudden act of affection.

“Welp looks like you’re so frail a kiss killed ya”

“Hey I’m not frail!” Baekhyun sat up

“Then prove it”

Baekhyun swung his legs around, knocking over Sir and getting on top of him, “like this?”

Sir was surprised but got over it to smirk at Baekhyun. He flipped them over so they he was pinning Baekhyun down. His face was inches away from Baekhyun’s, “Not bad, the hard part is to keep the opponent down”

“Are you gonna kiss me again?”

“I know you want me to, but I’m too sober for that”

“Jeez”

Sir got up but soon fell again, he turned around and saw Baekhyun hugging his legs “Try to get up now, Sir~”

Sir rolled over and sat up, pushing Baekhyun’s face to get him off his legs. He got up.

“Jerk”

Sir walked away “C’mon let’s go before the sun sets”

 

They went to a new marketplace. It had become a routine for them. Steal from the rich, take the treasure to a new country, sell them there, buy and steal supplies, move on to the next location, Repeat. Sir had been sneezing and coughing a lot lately so he went to go buy medicine. Baekhyun was looking at clothes, thinking of what to take. He felt something cold and sharp on his back.

“Give me everything you have on you”. He was being robbed.

He turned around with his hands out front. “Okay okay, don’t hurt me” He pretends to reach inside his tunic but grabs the mugger’s wrist and twists the arm and slams his elbow against the other man’s.

The assailant screams and Baekhyun punches him in the face, knocking him out and knocking out some of his teeth. The man fell on the ground and others stared at him.

“Sorry, he tried to rob me…” Baekhyun ran away and into Sir.

“Good job Eun, I’m proud of you” he sniffled “Let’s go”

“Can you buy me something to celebrate”

“Your gift is your life. If you failed, you would’ve died”

“I see…”

They left the market and headed onto their next destination.


	8. Chapter 8

Kyungsoo stared at the painting in front of him. 

It was of Baekhyun’s smiling face. He was wearing the outfit he wore at the banquet where Kyungsoo met him. 

“It’s been awhile since then huh. The banquet I met you at. It was your birthday party...I was an ambassador from a small mountain country, just a normal duke and yet you came over to me and treated me like I was important. I’m so close Baekhyun...I am finally worthy of your attention...I hope you keep watching me. We’ll be together soon enough. Just wait for me my love. Don’t give up on me yet…”

“Your highness?”

“Any news?”

“It’s been months and the royal family hasn’t even received a ransom note. I think it’s a lost cause sire”

“No. I refuse to give up. You will find him and you will bring them to me. If the next thing I hear from you isn’t ‘My lord, we found prince Baekhyun and his captors’, I will personally tie the noose around your neck, do you understand?”

The advisor nodded and ran off.

“Stupid advisor, I should have him exiled. Me, give up on my dream? I’d rather die” he looked at Baekhyun’s portrait. “I’ll never give up on you, my dearest”


	9. Chapter 9

Fall was coming to an end. Before even the last leaf fell, it started to snow. Inside the cave, Baekhyun sat across from Sir. He was hiding a small parcel behind his back. 

“What are you hiding? A dagger to kill me with?”

Baekhyun held out the small wrapped object “here, see for yourself”

Sir raised his eyebrow but took the gift and unwrapped it, “huh?”. It was two carved figurines. One that was big and had big ears, the other one was small and looked like Baekhyun.

“Happy Birthday Sir”

“...cute” He looked up at Baekhyun, he smiled. “Thanks”

“I’m glad you like them!” Baekhyun smiled gleefully “I had to hide them since Yeol chewed up my last try”

Sir laughed “That naughty boy haha”

“It’s us, see we’re friends holding hands” he pointed to the connected arms of the figurines.

“I’m surprised you remembered...Sorry I didn’t get you anything on your birthday”

“It’s fine, you made a really good dinner that night so it was enough”

“That’s good” he smiled down at the figurines and wiped a tear.

“Sir, are you okay?”

“Yeah...it’s just...it’s been awhile since I celebrated my birthday...I barely even remember how old I am…”

Baekhyun went over and hugged him. “I’m glad we could celebrate together Sir”

Sir hugged back “...My name is Chanyeol by the way…”

“Chanyeol...Yeol...You mean?”

“Yeah...Yeol was me...before the invasion…” Chanyeol looked up at him with teary eyes. “I used to be from Esem. I had an older sister named Yoora, a mother who joined our servants in the kitchen and taught us how to cook and a father who taught me to cherish our people and our nation like a king should...We were given seven days to surrender. My father refused...They came at dawn and everything was burning...My mother woke us up and put my sister and I in servants’ clothes. She took us to the stables and got us on our horses...Soldiers came in and seized her. My sister and I escaped but they chased after us...Yoora told me to keep running and not look back and so I did...I didn’t see her turn back to hold off the soldiers to buy me time. I took an arrow to the shoulder but I escaped and hid a town over...I went back three days later and...they were in the center of town...I was in the crowd and before I could say anything, The Emperor himself pulled the lever that would make them drop in the gallows. I watched in horror as my whole family choked on their nooses...I ran...I ran so far away...and I haven’t stopped…” He cried into Baekhyun chest, hugging him tightly.

Baekhyun stared at him “...I...That’s...That’s horrible...Oh my god...Chanyeol…” he hugged him tighter, “We can’t let him get away with that...We have to build an army...we have to-”

“No, I’m not going to lose you too”

“What?”

“If we fight him, he’ll kill us. You’re all I have Baekhyun...and I love you...I’m not letting Kyungsoo take you away from me. We can stay as we are. At least we’ll live and be together”

“You...love me?”

“Yes Baekhyun...I have for a while now...I just didn’t realize it...til now…” he pulled away “I shouldn’t have said tha-”

Baekhyun interrupted him by kissing him, “I love you too...Yeol” he smiled.

Chanyeol pulled Baekhyun into another kiss, a deeper one.

“Looks like you’re not going to abandon me if I slow you down now are ya?”

“I would never do that, even on the first night”

“Good because now you can never get rid of me”

“Good, cuz I’ll never try to”

They kissed again, happily. Later that night, for the first time in a year, they slept with Baekhyun’s head on Chanyeol’s chest.


	10. Chapter 10

Spring came early that year, it was warm and the snow was gone. Birds were singing and the sun shone intensely like a summer’s day. Baekhyun was waiting for a fish to take his bait. He stared intensely at the end of his pole. He felt a tug and pulled. The fish pulled back. “Chan I caught one!”

Chanyeol came running out with the sack. Baekhyun pulled on his pole and Chanyeol scooped up the fish. He brought it back to shore. He took it out and took the hook out. Baekhyun kneeled next to him “wow~ it’s a big one”

Chanyeol smirked, He held up the fish to Baekhyun’s face, “It’s your first fish so you have to kiss it”

“What? No!” Baekhyun pushed it away.

Chanyeol grabbed Baekhyun’s hands “kiss it!”

“Chan!” Baekhyun laughed and turned away.

“Pucker up and I’ll let you go”

“Why?”

“If you don’t you’ll never catch a fish again”

“...fine” Baekhyun closed his eyes and leaned forward to kiss the fish but felt a different pair of lips instead. “This fish is a good kisser” he joked.

“I got too jealous, those lips are mine”

“I always knew you were a big fish”

“Shut up” he playfully shoved Baek

“Ah how dare you tell a prince to shut up” Baekhyun mocked offense.

“My apologies your majesty” he put the fish in the bag and bowed in front of Baekhyun.

“You are hereby sentenced to strip” baekhyun smiled.

Chanyeol looked up with a raised eyebrow.

“What? You look good without your clothes, so why not?”

“I had no idea you were so perverted?”

“I read your scrolls”

Chanyeol sat up, blushing “When?”

“You were in the bath and I was bored”

“Did you like them?”

“Would it hurt?” Baekhyun blushed.

“You never did it?”

“...I...no…” he looked away.

Chanyeol tilted Baekhyun’s chin to face him “tomorrow, when we come back from the market...let’s try it, Okay?”

Baekhyun nodded, “Okay”

Chanyeol kissed Baekhyun and Baek kissed back, neither of them noticing Yeol II running off with the fish.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They fuck in this chapter.

Chanyeol carried Baekhyun like a bride on her wedding night. He gently placed the runaway prince on the pile of blankets and kissed him. They both removed their clothes and Chanyeol pulled out a vial of oil from a bag. “Nervous Baekhyun?”

He nodded, “Are you sure it’s not going to hurt?”

Chanyeol smiled, “Not tonight, I’m not that mean.”

Baekhyun looked at him, confused.

Chanyeol covered three of his fingers in oil and leaned back, “This is how you prepare yourself for a night like this.” He takes his middle finger and rubs it against his hole, slowly pushing it in and letting out a low groan.

Baekhyun watches with piqued interest as Chanyeol stretched his own asshole.

Chanyeol soon added the other two fingers, making sure to give his new lover a show, while theatrically moaning and panting Baekhyun’s name.

Baekhyun’s dick was twitching as it grew hard, he palmed himself and started moaning.

Chanyeol went over and kissed Baekhyun, his hand replacing Baekhyun’s on his cock. He jerked it a few times before guiding it to his ass. He sunk down on it, moaning.

Baekhyun was moaning too from the warm and tight ass on his dick.

Chanyeol sat there for a moment, adjusting to Baekhyun’s cock. He took a deep breath and moved up until only the tip remained inside him before coming back down.

Baekhyun instinctively grabbed onto Chanyeol’s hips.

Chanyeol gradually started to bounce faster on Baekhyun’s dick, angling himself to aim for that one spot. “Baek-ah!” he called out when he hit it.

Baekhyun was moaning and panting underneath him “ah ah so good ah fuck ah~ Chan-Chanyeol~”

Chanyeol took Baekhyun’s hand and put it on his dick “ah ah Baekhyun ah I ah I need you to- ah~”

Baekhyun wrapped his hand around Chanyeol’s cock and jerked it.

Chanyeol threw his head back as the pleasure washed over him. He kept riding Baekhyun’s dick. He had his hands on Baekhyun’s knees for balance.

After a short while, Baekhyun yelled “AH~ CHANYEOL!” and came inside his lover.

Chanyeol rode him out through his orgasm and made Baekhyun keep jerking him off until he came as well. His cum landed on Baekhyun’s chest. He reached over and pulled a cloth from the bag and wiped off the cum.

Baekhyun quickly fell asleep but was woken up by Chanyeol.

“C’mon we need to wash up” Chanyeol got up on wobbly legs and went to go heat up some water to wash up with.

When they were done, they laid in each other’s arms on the blankets. “You did good today, Baekhyun”

“You should be the one taking the credit Chanyeol”

He smiled and kissed Baekhyun again, “I love you”

“I love you more”

“Aish how cliche”

Baekhyun laughed, “You love it though, admit it~”

Chanyeol shook his head, “I guess I do”

“Yay!” Baekhyun snuggled closer to Chanyeol.


	12. Chapter 12

Kyungsoo listened to the search party’s messenger’s report, his eye was twitching and the calligraphy brush he was using to sign important documents snapped in half in his grip. The search party ran into another dead end. “Tell them that if they don’t find my fiance by the end of the month, that captain will be sentenced to the gallows!” he raged.

The messenger nodded, fearfully, and ran out.

 

Kyungsoo threw his broken brush across the room “Goddammit! How hard is it to find a prince and his lowlife captor!”

“Are we even sure he’s been kidnapped?” his advisor asked, nervously.

“What?”

“I mean, there’s been no ransom note or any sign of a struggle at the palace. Maybe he ran away on his own accord?”

“And why the hell would he do that?!”

“I don’t know my liege”

“Unless it involves bringing Prince Baekhyun back to where he belongs, I don’t want to hear it! Do you understand?”

“Yes my lord”

“Now get out!”

The advisor bowed and left.

“Running away on his own accord, how ridiculous. Baekhyun had the perfect life, a loving family, wealth beyond measure and a soon-to-be husband who would do anything for him without hesitation. Why would he want to leave that behind?” he grumbled, resting his elbow on the desk and his chin in his hand. “But he did have a point about the lack of a ransom note...if not for money then...oh my god” he sat up straight, his eyes wide open “They must have taken Baekhyun for his body…” His hands went to his face “No no no that can’t be...but why else...No no no they can’t be...they can’t be...my poor angel...oh god...I think I’m gonna be sick…” his hands covered his face as he leaned over the desk. “Where’s the messenger?! Tell him to have the search party check the brothels!” he called out to his servants. He started breathing heavily and clawing at his throat.

“Call the royal doctor, the emperor is not feeling well!” called one of his servants. 

He let them lead him to his bed chambers. He was sobbing and having difficulty breathing as his body shook. 

“Your Majesty what’s wrong?” asked the doctor.

“I-I can’t breathe...it’s like I’m drowning...Baek...Baekhyun...I think I’m going to vomit”

A servant brought him a bucket and he threw up in it.

The royal doctor ordered everyone out so he could treat Kyungsoo.

After a while, Kyungsoo began to breathe normally again, “Yi-Yixing, what, have I been poisoned?”

The royal doctor shook his head, “No your majesty, sometimes when under intense stress, the human body will have what’s known as a panic attack. It’s when your body will tell you that it’s had enough and needs rest. You do not have any toxins in your body, I checked. You just need rest or it’ll only get worse.”

“I can’t relax though! The love of my life has been taken and is quite possibly-” he started hyperventilating again.

Yixing rubbed his back and gave him a paper back to breathe into, “take it easy, in hold it for a few seconds, and out. Keep breathing like that. We’ll find him and the next time you see prince Baekhyun, he’ll be perfectly fine and happy to jump into your arms, okay? Keep this up and it could lead to death via heart attack before that can happen.”

Kyungsoo glared at the doctor “Was that a threat?”

“Oh god no, but that’s what happens when someone is too stressed out.” 

Kyungsoo took a deep breath “I see...I just feel sick at the idea of someone touching my one true love…”

“Everyone feels that way about the ones they love. We’ll find him before that happens, I’m sure of it” he rubbed the emperor’s back soothingly.

“...Thanks Yixing...Sometimes I think you’re my only friend here…”

“I’m just doing my job, Kyungsoo”


	13. Chapter 13

Baekhyun was looking at clothes in the merchant’s tent. He his pants had a tear on his right knee. While the merchant was talking to a couple on the other side of the tent, he took a pair of pants and quickly hid it in his cloak. He quickly walked away, looking like he lost interest in the merchandise. He walked over to another merchant’s tent.

“Looking for anything in particular?” asked the merchant.

“Just curious about what you have” Baekhyun smiled sweetly.

“Well I sell jewelry you see” he held up a necklace with gold chains and rubies “This piece is from Esem before it fell under Deo rule, 200 exos”

“Ah, I hope you don’t mind if I keep looking around, do you?”

“Let me know if I can be of any help” he smiled and put down the necklace. A young man came in on the other side but the merchant blocked Baekhyun’s view of his face.

Baekhyun quickly took the necklace and raced off, the young man chasing after him and the merchant calling “Stop that thief!”

He was able to escape from the guards and was now hiding behind a large boulder.

“Why did you take it?” asked a familiar voice, sternly.

Baekhyun turned around and saw Jongdae. “J-Jongdae...how...what...why-”

“I am here as an ambassador, Baekhyun, talk to me. I can help you get ba-”

‘I don’t want to go back!”

“What?”

“Look, I ran away from home because I didn’t want to be forced into an arranged marriage.”

“You ran away? Everyone thinks you’ve been kidnapped and there are search parties looking for you everywhere”

“Yeah I know, I’ve been avoiding them for a few years now”

“So you ran away and became a lowly thief? Are you insane? I know arranged marriages are terrifying but it can’t be that bad!”

“Look, Jongdae, you’re my friend, I’m only doing this to survive. I wouldn’t be doing this if I had any other choice”

“No other choice?! If you go home now, you could have all the wealth, food, clothing and whatever you want”

“Not everything. I have everything I always wanted now that I could never have as a prince. I have freedom, true freedom, before I had to ask my father for permission for everything and the things I didn’t have to ask for were allowed only if I followed my father’s commands. Here I can do whatever I want and be whoever I want. I even found love with someone who doesn’t want the throne or anything related to it. His name is Chanyeol and we’re in love. My father would never let me be with him, instead he gave me to that tyrant, Kyungsoo without any hesitation. If you have to tell everyone you saw me, tell them you saw my corpse. I’m not going back”

“Baekhyun, you need to think rationally here, your parents are worried and Kyungsoo is obsessively searching everywhere. Please, he might start killing people we know and love.”

“It’d be irrational to leave everything behind and go back to that miserable life”

“Baekhyun!”

“And stop calling me Baekhyun, my name is Eun. And trust me Jongdae, I’m happier than I have ever been. If you were really my friend, you’d help me stay hidden. I’m begging you”

Jongdae sighed “I want to meet him”

“Huh?”

“This guy you love, I want to meet him. I need to make sure he can protect you from Kyungsoo’s fury. I’ll keep your secret, but I need to meet this mystery man.”

“...Follow me”

 

Baekhyun took Jongdae back to his and Chanyeol’s hideout. “Chanyeol!”

“Yeah!”

“There’s someone I want you to meet!”

Chanyeol came out of the cave and walked over to him and Jongdae. Yeol II ran out too, barking happily and went to go sniff Jongdae.

“Eun, why are you bringing people here?”

“Because I’m his friend and I want to make sure you’re treating him well. He’s giving up a lot to be with you so I hope you’re worth it.”

“Chanyeol, this is Jongdae”

“The guy who’s house you refused to loot?”

“You guys almost looted my house?”

“It was a long time ago and we didn’t know it was your house at first”

“Aish my best friend’s really a fugitive…” he sighed and hid his face in his palm. He peeked out “I still consider you a brother Baek but this is just getting ridiculous”

“Sorry Jongdae”

Jongdae put his hand down, “So uh...how long have you guys...been together?”

“...I guess ever since I left the palace” Baekhyun blushed.

“Sounds about right” said Chanyeol.

“You knew Baekhyun was a prince?”

“I helped him escape”

“What?”

“Long story but he was at the palace and he saw that I was unhappy and helped me get out. In fact, Chanyeol’s a former prince too!”

“What? Really?”

“Prince Chanyeol of Esem at your service” Chanyeol sarcastically bowed.

“B-but I heard the entire royal family- how did you survive?” Jongdae’s jaw dropped.

He stood back upright “Long story”.

“Wow, I can’t believe it...What are you two gonna do about Kyungsoo and the Deo Empire?”

“Nothing. If we went against an empire, we’d be killed on the spot. It’s safer to just do what we’ve been doing for years, run and hide in the shadows.” Chanyeol wrapped an arm around Baekhyun’s waist.

“You’re not going to try to take your country back?”

“Didn’t you hear what I just said? It would be suicide”

“I guess you do have a point”

“You should head back before we have to worry about your search party on top of Baekhyun’s”

“Yeah, It was good seeing you Baek. I’m glad you’re happy. Goodbye!” Jongdae waved goodbye and walked back.

“We should get going now”

“Yeah, C’mon Yeol”

Yeol wagged his tail and followed his two owners as they packed up and headed out.


	14. Chapter 14

Kyungsoo stared at the report. Baekhyun has been spotted not too far away from Esem by one of Jongdae’s bodyguards. He ordered his men to bring him in a week ago.

“He’s here your highness”

“Bring him in”

Guards dragged in a bound Jongdae who struggled against his restraints “I don’t know where Baekhyun is! Let me go!”

“It says you spoke to him.”

“It’s false! I haven’t seen him since he disappeared!”

“You’re lying.”

“I’m not! I swear!”

“Take him to the dungeon and don’t let him out until he tells us where Baekhyun is”

“Kyungsoo, No! Wait! I really don’t know! I did speak with him but he didn’t say where he was going! He left after I spoke with him!”

“What _did_ he say?”

“He said he left on his own accord and is now on the run with a man he truly loves…”

Kyungsoo's eye twitched and his fists clenched, “He’s lying again”

“Kyungsoo!”

The guards dragged him off.

“Why is everyone saying Baekhyun ran away? There’s no reason he would. That advisor must’ve been wagging his tongue too much. I should order it cut out. I think I will, his voice is very annoying and now I have a good reason for it.” he mumbled to himself, resting his head in his palm. “Guards, have the royal advisor’s tongue cut out and exile him”

“Yes your majesty” a guard left to relay the message.

“I’m going to need a new one now though...I’ll just have to put all my most loyal dukes names on a dartboard and pick that way”

“Would you like one prepared now?”

“Yes that would be great”

The servant left to go make the preparations.

Yixing came in after the servant, “Do I need to know why you’re dragging the Earl of Chen to the dungeons even though he’s not under our rule?”

“He lied to me about speaking with Baekhyun”

“What did he say?”

“He first said that he did not converse with him but then he said he did and that Baekhyun told him that he’s run off with another man on his own free will as if there’s anyone more appealing than me”

“Kyungsoo, if I may ask, why are you so obsessed with prince Baekhyun?”

“What?”

“You talk about him a lot and went through so much effort to convince the king of Byun to let you have his hand in marriage. Even now you’re sending out search parties for him like your life depends on it”

“I see...remember back when I first went to Byun”

“Yeah you were an ambassador attending prince Baekhyun’s birthday banquet”

“When I was there, members of many noble families from all over shunned me and treated me like a peasant because I was barely in line for the throne of a small country that was in a recession. They kept telling me that I didn’t belong there and treated me like one of the staff. To them I was nothing more than a peasant” Kyungsoo frowned.

“That’s awful”

“Only one person saw me as human. He didn’t care about status or where I was from. He was a handsome man who gave me a glass of champagne and told me not to worry about the snobs. He even offered to talk to his father about giving Deo a loan to get us out of our recession. Prince Baekhyun was like an angel that night. Many people have shown me kindness because of my noble blood but he’s the only one to look past that and see me for the person I was. I got the loan and used it to take over Deo and from there I conquered those who turned up there nose at me. I couldn’t be with him back then because no prince in his right mind would marry a duke so I became a king. After I became king, I saw Baekhyun’s list of suitors, ones that the king of Byun would prefer for his son, whether Baekhyun wanted them or not. So I wiped out my competition until I finally got Baekhyun’s father’s approval. Now Baekhyun could live happily with someone who cared about him and wasn’t just after Byun’s throne. In fact, if Baekhyun wanted, I’d even give up Deo’s throne” he smiled

“What?”

“All this is just so I could be with him. If he wants to live a quiet life with me, I’ll turn Deo into a republic where the people choose their representatives and their leaders. ”

“But the people adore you”  
“Some do yes, but not all of them. I already squashed two riots within the last week alone.”

“Ah I see”

“I don’t mind though. I’d happily become a farmer if it meant I could spend the rest of my life with Baekhyun by my side”

“That’s very romantic”

“I know”

“Baekhyun is a lucky man”

“Yeah...I hope he’s okay”

“I’m sure he’s waiting for you impatiently” Yixing smiled

“I should hurry up so he doesn’t wait too long”


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They fuck in this chapter too.

Once again Baekhyun and Chanyeol managed to avoid another sect of Baekhyun’s search party. Now they were hiding in a mountain cave far from any towns.

Yeol was asleep at the entrance and Chanyeol was tending to a campfire while Baekhyun was looking for a pot to cook dinner in. Instead he found something that was definitely not a pot.

“Uhhh Chanyeol…?”

“Yeah Baek?”

“Why do you have a wooden penis in your pack?”

Chanyeol’s eyes widened and quickly turned to face Baekhyun, his face bright pink “Uhhh...that was for...when I was alone and had...urges…”

Baekhyun blushed and looked down, “...Can...Can I see you use it…?”

Chanyeol bit his lip and nodded.

 

Baekhyun watched Chanyeol stretch himself and ride the wooden dildo, He couldn’t resist jerking himself off at the sight.

“Mmm ah Baek~” Chanyeol held the base with his legs and kept fucking himself with they toy.

“Oh fuck~”

“Baekhyun I want you so bad~”

“Oh God~”

“Baekyun come over here ah I ah want you ah~”

Baekhyun went closer to Chanyeol. “Fuck my mouth Baek” he licked his lips, staring at Baekhyun’s rock hard cock.

He nodded and put his dick right in front of Chanyeol and pulled his hair.

Chanyeol moaned and took the dick right into his mouth, sucking on it.

“Chan~ Chanyeol~” he instinctively thrusted into Chanyeol’s mouth. 

Chanyeol kept moaning around Baekyun’s cock, making vibrations as he sucked.

Baekyun moaned louder and thrusted faster. “Ah Chanyeol now I want to try something~”

Chanyeol took his mouth off Baekyun’s dick “Like what?”

Baekyun laid Chanyeol on his back and got on top of him, his cock hovering over Chanyeol’s face and Chanyeol’s cock right in his face. He took Chanyeol’s dick into his mouth but he gagged. 

“Slowly, start by licking and gradually take more of me into you, like this” Chanyeol demonstrated on Baekhyun’s.

He moaned and gripped the dildo, getting another idea. He licked Chanyeol’s shaft and moved the toy inside him. 

Chanyeol moaned loudly and sucked more of Baekhyun, gripping his ass.

Baekhyun did gradually take more and more of Chanyeol into his mouth, being careful with his teeth. He also kept fucking Chanyeol’s hole with the dildo.

Chanyeol was a moaning mess underneath Baekhyun. He occasionally made noises made noises that sounded like a muffled “Baek”.

It didn’t take long for Baekhyun to cum in Chanyeol’s mouth and when Chanyeol did the same to him, he couldn’t help but choke. 

He got Chanyeol’s cum over his chin and Chanyeol’s thighs. To make up for it, he licked the cum on his lover’s thighs, not minding the taste.

“Augh Baek, you’re gonna make me hard again!”

“Don’t you want a round two?”

“Later”

“Fine” he took the dildo out of Chanyeol’s ass, causing the taller one to moan from the overstimulation.

 

After a while they fell asleep next to each other and had their round two the next morning.


	16. Chapter 16

Kyungsoo glared down at Jongdae.

Jongdae was beaten, bloody and shaking, “He’s-He’s-He’s going to Esem. He didn’t say why but that’s where he’s going. I-I swear” He rasped.

“Do you swear on your life?”

“Y-yeah…”

“In that case…” Kyungsoo smirked, “We’ll wait for him there and if he doesn’t show up, I’ll have you executed for treason.”

Jongdae’s eyes widened, “B-but I’m not one of your people...you shouldn’t have been able to-”

“Oh The country of Chen doesn’t mind. In fact, I was told to ‘do whatever I want to you’”

Jongdae gulped.

“Would you like to change your answer?”

Jongdae waited a moment but shook his head ‘no’.

“Excellent. Throw him in his cell until then.”

The guards dragged Jongdae away.

 

Jongdae was thrown into the cell hard enough to knock the wind out of his lungs. When the guards left, he slowly sat up and sighed.

“Baekhyun...I can see why you didn’t like him…” he changed his position so he was kneeling to the wall and clasped his hands in front of his face. “God...I don’t really know if you’re listening but please…” he gulped. “Please make sure my friends and family are okay...Don’t let Luhan make Xiumin cry...don’t let Xiumin find out that I love him...or in this case, _loved_ him...I know he’d feel guilty about loving Luhan instead...speaking of love...let Baekhyun and Chanyeol have their happy ending...I’ve seen Baekhyun’s alternative...I wouldn’t wish it for my worst enemy...I’m already sacrificing myself for them...can I also ask for it not to hurt...dying…” he started to cry. “I’m scared God...everything hurts now and I think Kyungsoo will only make it worse...I-I don’t want to die...I wanna go home...I wanna wake up in my bed and see that this is all a shitty nightmare. Help me God, you’re merciful right?” he continued to cry.

Yixing stood where he was, his medical supplies in hand. His face looked sympathetic towards the man crying as he prayed. He waited until the man fell asleep before he had a guard open the cell door to let him in. Once inside, he started treating Jongdae’s wounds.

“Huh?” Jongdae woke up when he felt a slight sting on one of his cuts.

“Sorry, I’m here to treat your wounds, I always knew Kyungsoo had a bad temper but he just got too carried away with this and I’m gonna give him an earful later” Yixing kept working.

“He won’t get mad at you for this, would he?”

“If he does, I’ll tell him that you dying from infection won’t bring Baekhyun to him.”

“...Thank you...by the way…”

“I’m a doctor, it’s my job to heal”

“Still...I appreciate it”

Yixing smiled “You’re welcome”

“Are you close with Kyungsoo?”

“Yeah, we grew up together. Our fathers were good friends so we were almost like cousins.”

“I see…”

“He wasn’t always like this though…”

“Huh?”

“When we were young, yeah he was stubborn and had a bit of a temper but he still wouldn’t hurt a fly. Now I think all these politics and military conquests have corrupted him. I can barely even recognize him sometimes. It’s scary. I know deep down he’s still the Kyungsoo I grew up with but...I’ve cleaned off too much blood on him that wasn’t his own…”

“You want to go back to the way things were.”

“Exactly”

“...I wish I could do that for ya”

“I’m just hoping that once Baekhyun is here, he’ll calm down this aggressive side to him. Kyungsoo really loves him, you know. He told me that he’d give up his entire empire for Baekhyun, I honestly hope he does. For his sake.” Yixing whispered into Jongdae’s ear.

“Why are you telling me all this?”

“...because I don’t have anyone else to talk to and I just have to get this all off my chest...I’m sorry you got dragged into this…”

“It’s okay...I’ve been dragged around a lot lately”

Yixing finished wrapping the last bandage, “That should do...I’ll try to get Kyungsoo to change his mind about...you”

“If it works, I’d do anything you want in order to pay you back”

“You might have to help Kyungsoo find Baekhyun. That’s what I want.”

“....I’m sorry but I can’t do that”

“Hm?”

“...Baekhyun is on the run with a man...He ran away because he didn’t want to marry Kyungsoo and the man he’s currently with...he’s in love with him. I can’t allow Kyungsoo to find Baek. I just know he’d rip away Baekhyun’s happiness and I’d rather die than let that happen.”

“I understand. I’ll see what I can do.” Yixing got up and walked out of the cell.

 

 


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I have writer's block so prepare for shitty filler

“Tell Kyungsoo that if he doesn’t release my cousin by tomorrow, The Wu Nation will declare war on his ass!” yelled the king as he had his servants put armor on him.

“Junmyeon, what’s going on?” asked his confused husband.

“Emperor Kyungsoo arrested my cousin when he wasn’t even in Deo! Who does he think he is?!”

“I agree, that was definitely uncalled for, did he even give a reason?”

“Yeah, that he’s under suspicion for kidnapping Baekhyun. Now how the hell did he come to that conclusion?!? What reason would Jongdae have to kidnap his best friend? What would he get out of it? Absolutely nothing! This is just insane!”

“We should go and find out what the hell is wrong with Kyungsoo!”

“And bring our troops!”

“Agreed!”

“Let’s go kick his ass!” Junmyeon raised his sword

“Yeah!” Yifan raised his fist “Let’s also get the rest of your family to fight for Jongdae’s release”

“Are you kidding me, they’re useless, my aunt and uncle didn’t even put up a fight when they arrested him”

“What the hell? He’s their son!”

“Yeah, they were worried about war against Deo”

“Those fucking cowards!”

“I know right!”

“We should fight them too!”

“That’s too much Yifan, let’s focus on Kyungsoo”

“Yeah, you’re right, sorry for almost threatening your aunt and uncle” He scratched the back of his neck, awkwardly.

“I’ll just ban them from the country” Junmyeon walked over to him.

“Sounds good” Yifan kissed his husband.

Junmyeon kissed back and then went to join his soldiers.

Yifan got his armor and joined him.

 

It was a long ride to Deo. 


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I actually forgot about this fic...

 

Chanyeol stared at the map and moved it around. “Shit where are we?”

“You got us lost?”

“It was **your**  search party that drove us off the road!”

“But we’ve dealt with them before without getting lost!”

“Just give me a couple minutes to find where we are”

“O **r** we could ask for directions!”

“And risk them recognizing you as the missing prince!”

“We’re so far away from Byun, I doubt they would know what I look like!”

“Your search party could be spreading your face everywhere”

“Well I see someone up ahead so they most likely know!”

Chanyeol grabbed Baekhyun’s arm, “That’s a terrible idea.”

“How? It’s giving you plenty of time how to figure out how to read a damn map” he broke out of Chanyeol’s grip and ran up to the traveling peasant.

 

“Hi mister, we’re lost, can you point us to the nearest village?”

The old man nodded and pointed “If you go that way past the river and a stone wall, you’ll reach the capital of Esem...I mean the district of Deo formerly known as Esem, sorry”

“Esem…?” Baekhyun stared blankly

“An old country that fell years ago…” He said, looking down sadly.

“I see...is there anywhere else nearby?”

“Not for miles, you’re better off getting your bearings there and then heading to your original destination”

“I see…”

“I found out where we are” said Chanyeol, coming over.

“Oh okay” he turns to the old man “Thanks and sorry about Esem..” He quickly did a mini bow in gratitude and ran to Chanyeol.

The old man watched and his eyes widened when he saw Chanyeol’s sword, “Wait!” he ran to them.

Chanyeol pulled Baekhyun behind him and drew his sword to fight the old man.

“Where did you get that sword?!”

“None of your business!”

“I made that for Esem’s king and I’m not going to stand by as a thief wields it!”

“Chanyeol tell him, we don’t need to fight!” Baekhyun stood between them.

“Chanyeol…?” mumbled the old man.

“What did I say about real names!”

“Are you him?” the old man asked. Baekhyun stepped aside as he came closer, holding Chanyeol’s sword hand. The old man came closer and tried to remove CHanyeol’s bandana.

Chanyeol stepped back “That’s not important.”

The old man kneeled before Chanyeol and cried “You’re alive...the prince is alive...thank god...and you’ve come to take back Esem” He looked up and smiled “I used to be the royal blacksmith...oh please let me smith for your army like you grandfather and father before you...the Deo empire won’t know what hit it!”

“I’m not taking back Esem.”

“What?” the old man’s smile fell.

“It would suicide if I fought the Deo empire now. I’m sorry...it’s a lost cause. Pretend you never saw me or my companion. We must go now”

“B-but your highness…” he cried.

“Don’t call me that. I’m not a prince anymore.” Chanyeol sheathed his sword and walked away with an iron grip on Baekhyun’s wrist.

The old man sobbed as the distance between them increased.

 

Chanyeol remained quiet after that for a while. It appeared he was still angry at Baekhyun for revealing his identity like that.

“Chanyeol, I-”

“Don’t bother, just keep moving”

“I’m sorry”

Chanyeol glared at him, “I told you we have to keep our identities a secret. He could tell a guard or someone and not only would they be looking for you to bring back to Kyungsoo but they’d also bring my head back with you”

“Chanyeol…”

“Just be quiet til we get to Esem capital city or whatever it’s called now”

Baekhyun stared at his hands and yeol whimpered up at him from his lap.

 

Chanyeol’s anger cooled down as they rode the ferry over the river. “I’m sorry I snapped at you...I just....I just spent too much time avoiding recognition...and the responsibility that my people...like that old blacksmith expect of me...I can’t be their prince...or what they really want me to be...their king…”

“Nah, I deserved it...I didn’t think of how you’d feel…”

Chanyeol sighed “I wish I wasn’t born a prince”

“Amen” Baekhyun raised his flask and drank.

Chanyeol smiled under his bandana at Baekhyun.

“People just don’t understand how hard it is to be royalty. Your whole life is set out for you whether you like it or not. Full of responsibility, possibility of your family dying because someone got ambitious and you have no choice in it at all” Baekhyun lamented

“And for what? Boring meetings and loveless marriages with complete strangers”

“Exactly!” Baekhyun pointed with his flask

“Not even all the gold and jewels in the world could make that worth it”

“I’ll drink to that!” Baekhyun laughed.

“Same” Chanyeol brought his out and clinked it with Baekhyun’s before drinking.

Baekhyun put his hand over Chanyeol’s, “I’m really glad I ran away with you.”

Chanyeol stared at him, his gaze soft, “me too”. He pulled down his mask and leaned forward to do the same to Baekhyun’s. Baekhyun let him and kissed Chanyeol.

After he pulled away, he said, “Let’s find a village far away where they can’t find us and get married”

“You of all people want to get married?”

“Well yeah...to you…” Baekhyun blushed and pulled his bandana back up over his face.

“Okay”

Baekhyun’s eyes widened and looked at Chanyeol, “really?”

“Yeah, let’s get married...you and me” his face and the tips of his ears were red.

Baekhyun hugged his fellow ex-prince, smiling the biggest grin to ever hurt his face.

Yeol barked happily.

Chanyeol smiled and hugged his new fiance back.


	19. Chapter 19

“You did what?!”

“I talked to Jongdae and healed his wounds. Like I said, I think you should let him go.”

“He might be the only way to find Baekhyun!” Kyungsoo shouted at him. 

“He told me why Baekhyun disappeared.”

“What?”

“Baekhyun did run away on his own. If you spare him, I’m sure he could prove it. He’s been friends with Baekhyun for just as long as we’ve been friends.”

“And how do we know he’s not lying? What if he’s the one who kidnapped Baekhyun?”

“He has an alibi for the night Baekhyun disappeared”

“So? He could’ve hired people to do it, he has the resources to”

“So how do you plan to fight off his angry cousin in Wu?”

“Same way I dominated all my territories”

“You’re gonna dominate one of the world’s most powerful nations?”

“If it means getting Baekhyun, then yes I will.”

“Good luck with that, your mad-jesty”

“What the hell do you mean by that?”

“I’m saying you’ve become a maniac ever since your coronation. I don’t even know what the hell makes Baekhyun so important to you. He was nice to you at one party and now you’re threatening people’s lives and willing to go to war because he’s not here with you?”

“I told you what he means to me. He’s worth more to me than all the gold in the world. One duke’s life is a tiny price to pay to have him with me”

“Okay well he’s still Baekhyun’s close friend and how do you think he’ll feel when he finds out you’re planning holding him hostage? If Baekhyun held me hostage, would you still love him?”

“He wouldn’t and I’m doing this because I have no choice”

There was a tense moment of silence.

“What if Baekhyun had no choice but to threaten my life”

“Yixing stop it”

“No. I won’t.”

Kyungsoo sighed, “Fine if we let Jongdae go, how do you propose we find Baekhyun? We already tried advertising a reward for whoever finds him. We’re currently looking all over the place. What else could we do?”

“...stop looking.”

“Are you insane?!” Kyungsoo gawked at his friend.

“Hear me out, if Baekhyun really did run away. Of course he’s going to avoid all our search parties. But if we cut back and pretend he’s dead, he might show up.”

“...are you sure?”

“Give a large scale funeral that shows how much you care about him and he’s bound to notice.”

“And if he doesn’t?”

“Then we can track Jongdae and have him find Baekhyun for us.”

“...very well then...Guards!”

Two armored men rushed to Kyungsoo.

“Release the prisoner, Kim Jongdae, earl of Chen”

‘Yes sir!” The guards went to go follow that order.

Kyungsoo turned to Yixing, “I just hope you’re right.”

“Not like I have a choice to be wrong…” Yixing muttered under his breath as he walked away from the emperor.


	20. Chapter 20

 

Baekhyun and Chanyeol stumbled upon a town far away from what was formerly Esem. In the town square a parade was happening and everyone was wearing black.

“Any idea what festival this is?” asked Baekhyun

“No idea” said Chanyeol.

They pushed through the crowd to see what was going on. Musicians in black marched down the street, playing Baekhyun’s favorite songs. Other than the music and the sounds of footsteps, the town was silent. Hundreds of soldiers followed a black carriage pulled by two large black horses that were following the marching band. It was adorned with flowers from all over the empire and portraits of the young prince. Once they got to the town center, the band stopped and a nobleman stepped out of the carriage and unrolled a foot of parchment. 

“Today was supposed to be a momentous occasion, celebrating the union of our beloved emperor, Kyungsoo and Byun’s crown prince, Baekhyun. Instead, just shortly after the betrothal was finalized, Baekhyun vanished. His majesty has teamed up with Byu to search far and wide to find this man who he believed was his one true love.”

“More like just another conquest for his empire” Baekhyun whispered to Chanyeol who shushed him.

The messenger continued on, “After no signs of the missing prince, our heartbroken emperor has finally come to the conclusion that the man who would be his husband, has perished. He ordered every village under his rule to host their own funeral for him. He even wrote the eulogy that must be read now for everyone to understand what the world lost when prince Baekhyun of Byu died.” 

“This is gonna be good” whispered Chanyeol, rolling his eyes.

“Baekhyun was a kind and gentle soul with an angelic face. It wasn’t long ago that Deo was just a small nation, its economy barely surviving off of its mines. Back then, I was seen as just slightly above a count, not even close to being considered a benevolent ally or a strong enemy. It was expected that he would be no different than any other prince from any other nation. Only inviting Deo representatives as a formality or to degrade them as entertainment. Instead he showed kindness and compassion. I fell in love with him at first sight.” 

A couple people in the crowd gasped while Baekhyun and Chanyeol rolled their eyes. Baekhyun mimed throwing up, which almost made Chanyeol laugh. 

The messenger of course didn’t seem to notice, “Unfortunately though, I wasn’t the only one. He had quite the number of suitors so I had to work hard and prove my worth. I strengthened my military and studied the art of diplomacy, since then, my empire and my list of allies grew and grew. Without Baekhyun inspiring me to expand, Deo wouldn’t be the country that it is now.”

Baekhyun looked guiltily over at Chanyeol, who only raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“I did everything I could to earn his father’s approval, I had to since he was just as impactful on Deoian history as I or any of my relatives, and when I finally gained it, I knew Deo was going to continue its prosperity for decades and continue its golden age. That was, until Baekhyun disappeared. When I heard the news, I was devastated, but I didn’t allow myself to mope, I sent troops everywhere to find him. Doing anything else would be a disservice to Deo and its people. We do not know how he died or who took him. It’s been years since the search started and we’re as close to finding him as we were when we started. It pains me to have to give up but, I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s missing their beloved. After nearly four years of being in far away lands, away from their friends, lovers and families, I figured it was time to bring our valiant soldiers home. In the meantime, I will just have to learn how to move on and appreciate all that my people have given me. Baekhyun’s memory will be preserved in Deoian history. Thank you all for standing with me at my most difficult times, Emperor Kyungsoo of the Deo empire.” He closed the parchment and turned to the soldiers, “You are all dismissed.” The messenger climbed back into the carriage and the band started playing again. The soldiers dispersed to reunite with their loved ones as the carriage went off. 

Chanyeol looked at Baekhyun, “Any idea what he meant that you’re the reason he started conquering other countries?”

“No idea.”

“Probably just an exaggeration for propaganda”

“Yeah.”

“We should probably go…”

“Agreed”

Chanyeol took Baekhyun’s hand and tried to get away from the crowd. A guard grabbed Baekhyun’s arm “Hey everyone was ordered to wear black to show respect for...oh my god it’s him!”

Chanyeol punched him and ran with Baekhyun. The crowd got out of the guards’ way as they quickly surrounded Chanyeol and Baekhyun.

“Take off your masks!” ordered one of the guards, Chanyeol and Baekhyun refused, “That’s an order!”

“We can’t! It’s against our religion! We’re just travelers passing through, let us go!” Chanyeol explained.

“It’s true! We’ll be damned if we take these off!”

“The fuck kinda religion is that?” The guards pointed their weapons at them.

“Please, we’re really just travelers just passing through”

“Kill the tall one, he assaulted a guard!”

They pulled Baekhyun away and started attacking Chanyeol. He took out his sword and fought back. Baekhyun tried to help Chanyeol but was held back by a pair of guards. One of them ripped off Chanyeol’s mask and they stopped and stared at him. “Esem’s prince...he’s alive…”

Chanyeol used this as a chance to escape, grabbing Baekhyun but the guards regained their senses and pulled them both back. They forced Chanyeol onto his knees and were about to execute him when Baekhyun used his body to shield him. “Stop!” Baekhyun took off his mask, “If you want to kill him, you’ll have to kill me first. I’m prince Baekhyun of Byu and this is prince Chanyeol of Esem, the love of my life.”

“Baekhyun are you crazy? They thought you were dead, you were free!” Chanyeol yelled.

“What’s the point in being free if you’re not with me”

The guards stood there, awkwardly, “soo uhh...do we bring them both to Kyungsoo?” one of the guards asked. 

“I don’t see why not”, another one shrugged.

“Just let us go!” yelled Baekhyun.

“Hmmm nope sorry, emperor Kyungsoo would kill us if we don’t”

The guards arrested Baekhyun and Chanyeol, bringing them to Kyungsoo.

 

Kyungsoo heard his palace door opening and he went to investigate. He saw his guards dragging in two men who were struggling in their restraints.

“What the hell is all this?” demanded Kyungsoo

“Your highness, it’s Prince Baekhyun and Esem’s prince”

“Let us go you sick bastard!” yelled Baekhyun, earning a kick from the guard behind him.

“Hey how dare you kick my fiance!” Kyungsoo scolded the guard

“He called you a sick bastard my lord”

Kyungsoo kneeled in front of Baekhyun and examined him, “Baekhyun are you alri-”

Baekhyun interrupted him by spitting in his face “fuck off, I ran away because you’re nothing but a monster!”

“Baekhyun…” Kyungsoo brought a hand up to his face in shock

The guards started beating Baekhyun, “Stop that!” yelled Chanyeol.

“My lord shall we execute them”

Kyungsoo looked up at the guard and then at Chanyeol, “Kill him, leave Baekhyun”

“No!” Yelled Baekhyun “I won’t let you kill him” he escaped from the guards and tried to fight the ones starting to drag Chanyeol

“Baekhyun, why are you protecting him?!”

“Because I love him!”

“You...love...him?” Kyungsoo stood up, clenching his fists in jealousy.

“Let us go, Chanyeol’s not going to fight you for Esem. We just want to live our lives quietly outside. You can have Byu, my father pretty much handed it over anyway. Just let us go. We’re not your enemies” Baekhyun pleaded

“...I’ll let him live...on one condition…” Kyungsoo stared at Baekhyun intently.

“And what’s that?”

“Abandon him...and be mine instead…”  
“I’d rather you kill us both...”

“Listen to him Baek, I don’t want you to die because of me…”

“Chanyeol...but…”  
“Baekhyun it’ll be okay...it won’t be easy...but...we’ll figure something out...I love you...more than anything in this world…”

Baekhyun teared up “I… I love you too...Chanyeol…”

“What’s it going to be Baekhyun? Will Chanyeol live or die?”

“You’re saying that if I go along with the marriage, you’ll let him live?”

“If it means I don’t have to use brute force to marry you then yes, I promise” 

Baekhyun was silent for a moment, he kissed Chanyeol one last time and walked over to Kyungsoo, wiping a tear from his eye, “just don’t hurt him...okay?”

Kyungsoo brought Baekhyun into a hug “Don’t worry, I’ll personally marke sure he’s well taken care of” he glared at Chanyeol.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's a bit rushed but I'm pretty much ready to end it, I'm still figuring out how to end the fic though, so there will be a few chapters before I decide. Until then, feel free to leave kudos and comments on it. Hell even after it's over feel free to comment and kudos this thing.


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I know I haven't been updating in a while, I've been busy. Here's a short chapter to keep you guys interested.

Chanyeol was thrown harshly into a cell. He was covered in cuts and bruises. His left eye was swollen and had a dark purple color. He looked up at the guards helplessly as the locked him inside. He tried to wriggle out of his restraints but it was futile. The guards left the cargo hold of the ship, leaving the hold without light and told the sailors above deck to start preparations to set sail.

 

Chanyeol sat up and leaned against the wall of his cell. It was a 3 sided cage attached to the ship’s cargo hold. He felt around blindly, finding on a bucket and the bars of his cell. No windows or even a guard to tell him how long until they reach Black Pearl cove for his exile. 

 

He felt around the outside of his large cage for a crowbar or anything he could use in his escape but felt a jolt and the ship began to move. The movement made him hit his head. All it did was add to his list of injuries. 

 

He could hear the waves slosh and crash against the boat. It was his only comfort in the dark and cold cell.

 

There were only two ways for Chanyeol to keep track of how long he was at sea, The guards gave him food twice a day and he could feel the hair on his face grow. While neither of these could be an accurate way to keep track of time, it was all he had.

 

Once Chanyeol’s beard started hanging off his chin and reached halfway to his chest, the sailors opened the cargo hold again but this time it wasn’t for food or to empty Chanyeol’s bucket. They grabbed supplies in a hurry, bringing crates and sacks up to the deck like ants. 

 

Chanyeol pressed his face to the bars, “Are we at Black Pearl?”

 

Nobody answered him. Now they weren’t bringing up supplies, they were dumping something all over the hold and placing things in certain spots, including near Chanyeol’s cell.

 

“What is this?!” he demanded

 

“Your sentence” the captain grinned. The sailors except for one rushed out. The captain handed a lit candle to the young man. “Light it up as soon as I step off” He walked away.

 

“You don’t have to do this! Let me out!” Called Chanyeol, desperately.

 

The young man waited a bit before throwing the candle, setting the hold ablaze. The young sailor ran up to join the rest of his crew.

 

The flames caused blasts to puncture holes in the ship. Water flooded into the ship and put out the fires but Chanyeol still needed to free himself if he wanted to escape. As the water kept rushing in, it brought in fish and other things from the surrounding ocean. 

Water levels were at Chanyeol’s chest as he tried to free himself for the upteenth time. A loud bang against the cell surprised him. It was the boy who set the ship ablaze. Or what used to be that boy judging by the knife in his chest. 

 

Chanyeol grabbed the knife and tried to use it to cut the rope binding his wrists. He dropped the knife in the water.

 

“Shit!” He took a deep breath and dove after it, grabbing it right by the cell door. He quickly cut the rope and used it to tie the boy’s corpse to the cell before the water made it drift away. Chanyeol went up for air at the inch below the ceiling he had left. He dove down and tried to search the boy’s body for keys.

 

He didn’t have any.


	22. Chapter 22

Kyungsoo smirked as Baekhyun begrudgingly signed the marriage contract. The Byun prince’s butt was framed nicely by his red pants, bent over next to Kyungsoo, who was appreciating the view. 

 

Baekhyun stood up, “Alright there, we’re married, happy?”, he asked, clearly irritated.

 

The Deoian emperor pulled his new husband closer by the waist, “Still have to kiss the groom~”, he smiled cheerfully.

 

A deafening smack resonated around the ballroom, followed by shocked gasps and dead silence.

 

Kyungsoo’s cheek stung and Baekhyun had a smirk on his own face, looking at the handprint he left on his husband’s face.

 

“In Byu, we slap our grooms. Prevents them from being egotistical assholes, but I guess it’s already too late” Baekhyun smiled sweetly, straightened his red tuxedo and walked away, all eyes following him out. 

 

Kyungsoo and his guests gawked in silence for another few moments before Kyungsoo broke out of his shock and ran after his spouse.

 

“Baekhyun what in the name of hell was that?!” Kyungsoo tried to open the door to Baekhyun’s room but it was locked from the inside

 

“Byu customs, weren’t you paying attention?” Baekhyun was wiping off his makeup inside his room. 

 

“You do realize that if I don’t do something about your little ‘assault’, everyone will think I’m weak!”

 

“Cry me a river, or better yet just divorce me and send me to exile. Boom, you punished me for slapping you and I get to be happily far away from you. Win-win”

 

“Not much of a punishment if it’s what you want” Kyungsoo grumbled. 

 

“Does it look like I care?”

 

“Open this door right now”

 

“No.”

 

“As emperor of Deo, I order you to open this door!”

 

“Technically as your reluctant husband, I am also emperor of Deo and I say this door is to remain closed because I hate you”

 

“You’re acting like a child!”

 

“Since I’m now a child, that means our union is invalid, praise the gods!” Baekhyun was tying his sheets together in a makeshift rope.

 

“Baekhyun, I love you but you’re really starting to piss me off”

 

“Good, I’ll get the divorce papers ready”, He tied the sheet to the bedpost.

 

“Baekhyun, come out”

 

“Not until I get a divorce”

 

“Baekhyun, don’t make me get the guards to break this door down!”

 

“Do it, arrest me in front of all your shitty guests. I’m sure they won’t think you’re insane for forcing me into this.”

 

“Guards, break this door down!” Kyungsoo called out.

 

Baekhyun picked up the chair in his room and threw it against the window.

Guards broke the door down and Baekhyun jumped out with his sheets rope. Baekhyun was still too high up to jump down and he looked up to see the guards pulling him back up. He jumped and landed on the mid tier of the castle’s roof. He ran, careful not to slip on any shingles.

 

“Guards get him!” Kyungsoo ordered.

 

As guards rushed onto the roof, Baekhyun jumped to the lower tier but slipped and held onto the edge, this part of the castle hung directly over the moat that keeps its walls safe. Baekhyun saw guards coming to get him, he thought about letting go and risk falling to his death, but then he remembered that Chanyeol was still alive and waiting for him. He let the guards pull him up and bring him inside.

 

“Are you nuts!?! You could have died!” Kyungsoo hugged Baekhyun close “Don’t ever scare me like that again”

 

Baekhyun rolled his eyes, annoyed. Kyungsoo checked Baekhyun’s body for injuries frantically until he was pushed away by his grumpy husband. “Don’t. Touch. Me.”. Baekhyun turned around to see a crowd of wedding guests witnessing him being dragged in, “what are you looking at? Show’s over, go the fuck home you useless sons of bitches” he snapped at them and stormed off to a spare bedroom.

 

The next day, Kyungsoo stood in front of Baekhyun’s door. “Baekhyun are you up?”

 

“Go away Kyungsoo”

 

Kyungsoo thought for a bit and figured out something to bring his husband out, “Chanyeol sent you a letter”

 

“You’re lying, if he did, you would never show it to me.”

 

“While you’re not wrong, I’d still like for you to come out. Surely breakfast with my beloved husband isn’t too much to ask”

 

“I’m not hungry” Baekhyun was laying under layers of blankets.

 

“You better not be trying to break out again”

 

“You put iron bars on my window last night”

 

“I see you noticed, now darling, come join me” 

 

“Fuck you”

“I’m not letting the servants bring food to your room. If you want to eat, you must dine with me”

 

“Then I’ll starve”

 

“Baekhyun, just talk to me. I know you think I’m some evil tyrant, but let me prove to you I’m not”

 

“You killed thousands, if not millions of innocent people and the only reason you didn’t kill Chanyeol was so that you could use him as a hostage to manipulate me into spending the rest of my miserable life with an insufferable prick like you. Now go the fuck away and take your bullshit with you”

 

Kyungsoo clenched his fist, “I did all of that for you, you know. I was a duke of a small nation, your father would never have given me your hand if i hadn’t-”

 

“Who gives a fuck” Baekhyun interrupted him, “I was nice to you at a party, big fucking whoop. I’m nice to almost everyone when I first meet them. Now how many of them turn into psychotic dictators? Oh just you. Unlike you, everyone else can take ‘no’ for an answer and respect me as a person instead of treating me like I’m some sort of trophy or a character in your romanticized propaganda bullshit!” he threw a shoe at the door.

 

Kyungsoo looked down and sighed, “ I guess I did get a bit carried away...really, my whole goal was to impress you and your family...to show them how capable I was. I’m sorry Baekhyun. Now that I have you, I’ll stop the conquests. I’ll-”   
  


“‘Now that you have me’? See this is exactly what I’m talking about!” Baekhyun interrupted again, “You don’t have me, I’m not an object you can own. I only belong to myself. What you do have is an insane obsession of me. That’s it! I’m not yours nor will ever belong to you. But you don’t care, I’m nothing but a possession to you. If you really loved me, you would only want me to be happy. Whether I’m with you or not.” Baekhyun angrily began to rant “Love is doing whatever you can to protect the wellbeing of someone you care about! That’s why I married you. If I didn’t offer myself to you, you would’ve killed Chanyeol. By sacrificing my own happiness, I saved his life. Sure neither of us are happy now but at least there’s a chance for it! Maybe Chanyeol will escape from his exile and we could run away together again or better yet, you’ll just drop dead and I’ll marry Chanyeol. Obsession on the other hand is threatening to kill someone because I love them instead of you!”

 

Kyungsoo looked up at the door, “Fine then, I’ll free your precious  _ Chanyeol _ from his exile” He spat the name, disdainfully, “and once he comes for you, I’ll divorce you on the spot. Will that make you happy?”

 

“If you were telling the truth, it would”

 

Kyungsoo shrugged, “If you follow me to my office, I’ll write the letter ending his exile and hand it straight to the messenger in front of you so that you’ll believe me.”

 

“I want to deliver the message myself”

 

“Then let’s go to Black Pearl together” Kyungsoo smirked

 

“Deal”


	23. Chapter 23

 

Black Pearl Cove was a port city on the coast of Ohorat, a territory of Deo and not too far away from the dormant volcano,  mt. Yehet. It’s famous for its black sand beaches and its namesake, the black pearls made from this specific type of sand. What keeps this place from tourists are rough currents, ever looming threat of eruption despite mt. Yehet being dormant and of course, piracy. Pirates have been raiding ships for rare black pearls and the gold used to purchase these exotic exports as many as 4 ships for every ten that come and go from the port. This only makes the pearls even more valuable since it shows that the owner of those pearls hired the best crew or was clever/strong enough to get past the pirates and dangerous waters. They say even sharks refuse to go near this part but that doesn’t stop Kyungsoo and his empire.

 

Baekhyun watched the horizon, waiting for land and his beloved, staring almost romantically as the sun sunk from the sky. Behind him, was Kyungsoo, admiring him from a distance. He figured one day, Baekhyun would look at him like that. 

 

On the other hand, despite the romantic mood of the scene, Baekhyun was currently nauseous and a member of the crew suggested that looking at the horizon line would ease his stomach. The rocking of the ship made his head spin and the mood was ruined by Baekhyun hurling over the guardrail. Well, Baekhyun would definitely react this way to Kyungsoo, even on land, so in a way, his wish was attainable.

 

They reached the port at nightfall, somehow managing to avoid any pirate activity. 

 

Kyung and his entourage brought Baekhyun to his ‘villa’ 5 hours from the edge of town. It was a cave behind a waterfall on the outside, Baekhyun looked at Kyungsoo like he was crazy when they arrived. Kyungsoo’s local butler led them up a trail behind the treeline and then up a narrow ramp cut from the rock, invisible from across the expansive lake. Behind the waterfall was a cave mouth big enough to let in three grown men at a time.  

 

Inside the cave was akin to the interior of a lush palace. “How?”

 

“The old king was paranoid of bandits so he made this cave palace to hide his most treasured possessions, then when we went to war, the coward and his family hid here. Of course we tracked them down and slaughtered them all but I fell in love with this spot and made it my vacation home” Kyungsoo smiled sweetly, as if talking about his favorite childhood game instead of killing a whole family and taking everything they had.

 

Baekhyun backed away from Kyungsoo slowly, creeped out by his ‘husband’s’ comfortability with murder.

 

“So uhh, where’s Chanyeol?”

 

“Hm?” Kyungsoo looked annoyed at the mention of his rival’s name.

 

“We came here to see Chanyeol”

 

“...Right, we did...I have him in a jail cell a couple miles away...we’ll see him tomorrow”

 

“I want to see him now” Baekhyun demanded

 

“I’m tired, aren’t you? You were ill on the boat, just rest for now. He’ll still be there in the morning” Kyungsoo smirked.

 

“...I want my own room”

 

“Sorry sweetheart, but there are only two chambers, mine and the servants’ quarters”

 

“I’ll stay with the servants then” Baekhyun went to a butler “prepare me a cot in the servants ward”   
  


The butler looked at Kyungsoo, nervously and then went to follow Baekhyun’s order.

 

“Do you really think I’m going to let my own husband, co-emperor of Deo, sleep with the servants?” Kyungsoo walked up to Baekhyun

 

Baekhyun crossed his arms, “Well I’m definitely not sleeping with you, not even if you chained me to the bed”

 

“I can arrange that you know” Kyungsoo was getting sick of Baekhyun’s resistance.

 

“Th-the cot’s ready...m-my lord…” The butler from earlier arrived and bowed.

 

Baekhyun smiled, “excellent” he turned to Kyungsoo, “good night, your shittiness” he sarcastically bowed and followed the butler to the servants’ quarters.

 

Kyungsoo was fuming, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you” he muttered. He turned to his servant “chain him to my bed and don’t listen to him if he orders you to let him go, that’s an order”

 

Baekhyun was dragged out of his cot “What the fuck?! Put me down! Hey let go of me!” the guards chained his hands and feet to the bedposts “Unchain me! I’m emperor of Deo! Let me go!” Baekhyun struggled.

 

Kyungsoo watched, he liked seeing Baekhyun in those chains. One day he’ll get his consent to use them again, Kyungsoo decided. He ordered the guards to leave and joined his restrained husband in bed. “I told you so” he laid beside Baekhyun, wrapping his arms around Baekhyun’s waist. 

 

“Get your fuckig hands off me!”

 

“Just go to sleep darling”

 

“Not until you let me go!”

 

“I’ll let you go if I know you won’t try to leave”

 

Baekhyun sighed, “Fine! I promise I’ll stay with you if you unchain me”

 

“Alright, I’ll unchain you from the bedpost” Kyungsoo ordered for a servant to come.

 

Yixing came in, “yes your lordship?”

 

“Unchain my husband from my bedposts”

 

“Right away my liege” Yixing got the keys from the guards and unchained Baekhyun but as soon as he was free Kyungsoo chained himself to Baekhyun.

 

“I said I’d free you from the bedposts”

 

“Asshole”

 

“Anything else, my lord?” Yixing asked, leaning over and secretly giving the keys to Baekhyun.

 

“Maybe a sleeping draught for both of us, unless…” Kyungsoo rubbed up Baekhyun’s tunic, feeling his chest and abs.

 

“ **Sleeping draught! Get the sleeping draught as soon as possible!** ” Baekhyun yelled, not enjoying Kyungsoo’s ice cold hands.

 

Yixing rushed out the room

 

Kyungsoo pouted and took his hand out of Baekhyun’s tunic to spoon him instead, “some other night then”

 

Baekhyun cringed.

 

Yixing came back with two cups, one with sleeping draught, the other one with tea. He gave the draught to Kyungsoo and the tea to Baekhyun.

 

Baekhyun was reluctant but drank his ‘draught’ anyway. Kyungsoo was more willing and quickly fell into a deep sleep. Yixing collected the two cups.

 

“Just go, I’ll tell Kyungsoo that Chanyeol must’ve taught you how to pick locks. But I should tell you...Chanyeol’s not here...Kyungsoo told the captain to kill him and make it look like a pirate attack...Baekhyun I’m-”

 

“What? Chanyeol’s...Chanyeol’s dead…” Baekhyun interrupted, his heart shattered.

 

“I’m terribly sorry. Kyungsoo doesn’t even know that I overheard him discussing the deal with the captain...you must go now. This is your only chance...go to the pier and get on another ship. I don’t want Kyungsoo to torture you like this… There’s a tunnel behind the wardrobe, the former royal family didn’t get a chance to finish it but you should be able to. Once you get out, you should see the lights from the city. Take care Baekhyun”

 

Baekhyun was still in shock but nodded, he hugged Yixing “Thank you my friend” and got up. “I’ll never forget this”

 

The two moved aside the wardrobe and Baekhyun climbed through the tunnel, finding the small shovel a servant must’ve used to dig his employer’s escape tunnel. Baekhyun dug for what felt like fifteen minutes before he saw moonlight. He crawled out into the jungle and headed for the port city.


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I may have gotten ahead of myself here, just saying.

Kyungsoo woke up, feeling a suspicious lack of body heat next to him. He opened his eyes and saw that he was alone.

 

“Guards!” he yelled

 

The two currently stationed outside his room ran in “yes sir”

 

Kyungsoo looked around for how Baekhyun could’ve escaped. “Where did that tunnel come from?!”

 

The guards looked at it. “Moles?” suggested one.

 

Kyungsoo looked at the guard with an annoyed glare, “Moles? You think there’s a mole that can dig a hole that big?”

 

“I don’t know how else that got there”

 

“You know what, I don’t care who made this tunnel. Baekhyun used it to get out, so go out and find him!”

 

The guards ran out.

 

“And get Yixing while you’re at it!”

 

Yixing came in, “you called, sire?”

 

“You gave Baekhyun a sleeping draught right?”

 

“Yes, I did” Yixing lied through his teeth

 

“Then how did he escape?”

 

“It is possible that it had no effect on him and since Chanyeol was a thief, it would make sense for him to know and teach Baekhyun how to pick locks”

 

“Did he also teach Baekhyun how to move a wardrobe by himself when normally it takes two men at least?”

 

“A lot of people are stronger than they look, my liege”

 

“You’re hiding something, you’re never this formal with me”

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about”

 

Kyungsoo got up and walked to Yixing, “look me in the eye and tell me you didn’t set Baekhyun free”

 

Yixing looked kyungsoo dead in the eye “That only worked when we were friends. Now you’re just an obsessed maniac. That’s why I’m formal. I don’t want to be beheaded on the day I quit being your royal physician”

 

Kyungsoo’s eyes widened in shock, “You, of all people, think I’m an obsessed maniac? I haven’t changed a bit since we’ve known each other. How dare you say that! And no! I won’t let you quit! You disobeyed me and let my husband out into the wilderness. I should have you thrown in jail for that! But no, no no no...you didn’t just betray your emperor...you betrayed your friend who has done nothing but help you and your people…” His eyebrows furrowed and his nostrils flared “I sentence you to execution and not by hanging. All that formality went to waste I’m afraid, so I’ll be the one to behead you...unless you tell me where Baekhyun is”

 

Yixing took a deep breath, trying to stay calm, “I only told him to go to the city and catch the next ship out...I have no clue where he went after he left the tunnel…”

 

“Guards! Arrest him and bring him outside. I also want my sword”

 

Two guards came in and grabbed Yixing’s arms.

 

Outside a servant handed Kyungsoo his sword. Everyone gathered around and the guards brought over Yixing and made him kneel in front of Kyungsoo.

 

“Sir Yixing of the noble family, Zhang, for disobeying me and setting my, albeit reluctant, husband free into the night, I, Emperor Kyungsoo of Deo, hereby sentence you to death by beheading, do you have any last words?”

 

“This is why I refuse to serve you any longer. You’ve become a tyrant, your majesty. Your obsession with Baekhyun ruined you. Just let him go and it doesn’t have to end this badly, you can find a new man. One that wants to be with you. Baekhyun was a lost cause from the start”

 

“Is that all you have to say?”

 

“Need I say more?”

 

Kyungsoo raised his blade and swung it without hesitation.

 

Yixing’s head rolled off his shoulders and fell with a thunderous thump onto the floor, followed by another one by his body.

 

The cave was silent for a long moment before footsteps approached.

 

“We found him, your grace”

 

The crowds parted to allow Baekhyun and the two guards through. Baekhyun looked on in horror at what was left of Yixing.

 

“I...I never even asked for his name or…”

 

“We found him not too far from here, looked like he was heading back from the city”

 

“He was?” Kyungsoo gave his sword to the servant and walked over.

 

Baekhyun was too distracted by his shock to acknowledge Kyungsoo.

 

Kyungsoo took Baekhyun’s hand, not even bothering to wipe off Yixing’s blood first, “Let’s go darling, you still want to see Chanyeol right?”

 

“...I...I know he’s dead....I...I heard it from...some drunk guys...there was another pirate attack...Chanyeol’s ship...everyone died...and now…” baekhyun allowed himself to cry.

 

“Shh shh, I’m so sorry, I had no idea, ohh you must feel terrible” Kyungsoo hugged him close, hiding his smile “let’s go back to our room, okay sweetheart?”

 

Baekhyun held onto Kyungsoo, still crying as he was led to the room. The servants disposed of Yixing’s body, some barely containing their grief and fear.

 

Kyungsoo sat Baekhyun down on the bed, “There there, I’m sure he went down valiantly”

 

“I should’ve gone with him…”

 

“Noo, I would’ve never allowed it. Especially now that I know everyone died on that ship. It’s a shame it sunk”

 

“C-can we go back...I want to go back to Deo…”

 

“Of course darling, let’s go back. I know you must really hate it here now”

 

“Mhm” Baekhyun nodded.

 

Kyungsoo had the servants pack for them and ordered a ship be prepared at once.

 

When they finally sailed off, Baekhyun stood at the stern of the ship, watching the pier get farther and farther away.

 

Kyungsoo walked over, “Is there anything I can do for you, sweetheart?” he rubbed Baekhyun’s back.

“You could leave me alone to grieve”

 

“I see, very well then…” Kyungsoo went to his quarters on the ship.

 

Once in there, he laid on his bed. He tried to get a servant to fetch Yixing, but stopped. “I-I killed him...my only friend...no...he was a traitor…” tears fell from his eyes, “but why? Why’d he?...I guess I was a bit obsessed…” He placed a hand over his face but when he moved it away, he saw blood, “oh my god...am...am I a monster?” he turned over to cry “I am I am...Yixing you were right...I’m a tyrant...oh my god...Yixing...I’m sorry...I’m so fucking sorry…” he sobbed in his cot

 

“Sire, we need to get you somewhere safe!” a guard came in

 

“Can’t you see I’m mourning my best friend!” he yelled at the guard

 

“But sire, we’re-” he was interrupted by a sword going through his chest. He fell forward and a man came in, grabbing Kyungsoo by the arm and dragging him out.

 

Kyungsoo struggled but saw Baekhyun standing next to another man, “Don’t you dare hurt him you sons of bitches!” he yelled.

 

“Change of plans boys, I want to do it” Baekhyun said, holding his hand out to the other man.

 

The pirates around them cheered as their captain gave Baekhyun his cutlass.

 

“Wha? What’s happening? Baekhyun?”

 

“Do you really think I’d let you get away with killing Chanyeol?” said Baekhyun

 

The man pushed Kyungsoo forward.

 

“B-Baekhyun...but how did you?”

 

“I told the captain here I’d pay them handsomely if they killed you and made it look like an attack similar to the one you used to cover up Chanyeol’s death”

 

“Baekhyun, you gotta listen to me, I know what I did was wrong, but I can make amends, I’ll give Esem to its people, I’ll pay monthly dues to the Zhang family! Just don’t kill me” Kyungsoo got on his knees and begged.

 

“No” Baekhyun swung the cutlass and unlike Yixing, the two thumps were drowned out by cheers.


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY THE LAST CHAPTER IS HERE!!!
> 
> Also yeah, sexy times ahead.

When Baekhyun returned to Deo, now a powerful widower, he told the public that Kyungsoo perished in a pirate raid and that the pirates who killed him were killed and their ship, sunk.

 

Kyungsoo, despite his bastardy personality, was loved by his people and thus, without Baekhyun having to say anything, held funerals for him in all major cities. Baekhyun attended none of them, instead creating decrees that turned all Deo territories conquered by Kyungsoo into republics. 

 

Though many disagreed with him on those orders, mainly the ones in the capitol, the people in those territories held celebrations larger than even the most devoted city funeral for Kyungsoo. 

 

Two years later, Baekhyun was tossing and turning in his bed. After a while he gave up and sat up. “Damn, I can’t sleep...Maybe I should just go for a walk around the palace…”, He got up and lit some candles before walking out the door.

 

He went over to Yixing’s and Chanyeol’s funerary shrines. He kneeled before their portraits and lit some incense. “Miss you guys...especially you Chanyeol...The people of Esem are doing great by the way...They just finished their new constitution and are going to hold their first elections soon. That’ll be interesting to see....and Yixing...I spoke to your family again...they miss you...they still think you sacrificed yourself to save me from pirates...though technically...you did sacrifice yourself for me so I guess it’s not lying...anyway...you’re an uncle now...your brother...he has a son...named Yixing...It should’ve been me that died...I’m sorry”

 

Baekhyun sat in silence for a moment when he heard movement by the window.

 

He grabbed his sword off the wall as the cloaked figure pulled himself in through the window.

 

He held the sword to the stranger’s neck, “How dare you!”

 

The intruder took out his own sword and parried.

 

Baekhyun stepped back and lunged, aiming for his opponent’s abdomen. 

 

The intruder parried and swung overhead.

 

Baekhyun blocked it and was able to cut a stripe along the arm.

 

The stranger winced but kept fighting, “You’ve been practicing I see” his deep voice commented, amused.

 

“Gotta protect myself from scum like you” Baekhyun slashed again, blocked again by the tall man’s sword.

 

Theirs swords clanked as they clashed. The cloaked man blocking most of Baekhyun’s attacks and giving Baekhyun minor scratches at most while Baekhyun aimed to kill.

 

Baekhyun was able to get the man to back up to the window, almost pushing him out. The man threw his cloak at Baekhyun.

 

Baekhyun stepped back, fumbling to get it off of him, he got it off quickly, surprised the intruder didn’t try anything when he was at his most vulnerable.

 

He was even more surprised when he saw what was underneath.

 

The intruder at the window was laughing, his deep voice echoed throughout the room. He had black curly hair and large ears. His eyes showed the happiness hidden behind his mask. 

 

Baekhyun dropped the cloak and his sword, “b-but...is..it can’t be…”

 

The tall man took off his mask, “I’m impressed. You’ve really gotten better.” Chanyeol smiled at Baekhyun.

 

“You’re not real…” a tear fell down baekhyun’s cheek.

 

“Are you sure about that? If this was a dream, would I have left those scratches on you?”

 

“...This is a dream…”

 

“And not even a sex one, how disappointing” Chanyeol leaned against the window, smirking.

 

Baekhyun walked over and put his hand on Chanyeol’s cheek, “You’re warm...alive…”

 

Chanyeol looked at Baekhyun’s wrist, “Yeah it wasn’t easy, had to hold my breath and pick the lock…” He placed his hand over baekhyun’s, “I waited impatiently to come and steal you away again…”

 

Baekhyun let out a sob and hugged Chanyeol tightly, “I-I thought you were dead!” he cried out, sobbing into Chanyeol’s shoulder.

 

Chanyeol held him tightly, “I know sweetheart, I know...I’m sorry...but I’m here now...and I’m never letting you go okay”

 

Baekhyun looked up at him, “you better”

 

Chanyeol smiled and kissed Baekhyun, “I missed you”

 

Baekhyun pulled him back in for another kiss, “I missed you more”

 

Chanyeol put his hand on Baekhyun’s face and caressed his cheek with his thumb, wiping away tears, “So was it really pirates that made you a widower or did my most precious treasure give him what he deserved?”

 

“I think I was an excellent pirate if you ask me” Baekhyun tilted his chin up boastfully with his hand on his chest.

 

Chanyeol chuckled, “a pirate and a thief, the most romantic tale of the ages”

 

Baekhyun looked at Chanyeol with a mischievous glint in his eye, “Shall we go pillage then? You did come for your treasure, am I correct?” he slid his hand up Chanyeol’s tunic.

 

Chanyeol bit his lip, “mmm indeed I did, though let’s go somewhere so we don’t get caught, I’d rather be chained to a wall after I become Deo’s new emperor”

 

Baekhyun led Chanyeol back to his bed chambers, excited.

 

Once there, Chanyeol bowed to Baekhyun, “you called for my service, my lord?”, a mischievous smile on his face.

 

“Why yes, I did” Baekhyun licked his lips and sat on the edge of his bed, “come here, between my legs”

 

“Yes my lord~” Chanyeol kneeled between Baekhyun’s legs, his face close to Baekhyun’s crotch.

 

“These pants are tight, take them off for me” Baekhyun smiled

 

“As you wish~” Chanyeol pulled Baekhyun’s pants and underwear down and off, “mmm, your cock is as beautiful as ever, my liege”

 

“I could say the same about your lips...my royal cock is feeling a draft, could you...warm it up for me?” Baekhyun’s fingers went into Chanyeol’s ebony curls.

 

“Of course, your majesty” Chanyeol licked up the shaft’s underside, eliciting a moan from Baekhyun. 

 

“Oh god...your tongue…”

 

Chanyeol swirled his tongue around the head before taking it into his mouth, sucking on it.

 

“Ahh...Chan...ah...mmph...m-more..aah..nm..”

 

Chanyeol bobbed his head as Baekhyun writhed in pleasure.

 

Baekhyun stopped Chanyeol’s head, as a warning, and thrusted into his mouth.

 

Chanyeol relaxed his throat and moaned around Baekhyun’s cock.

 

“Oh god...so good..aah...ahh”

 

Chanyeol palmed his own crotch, his erection straining against his pants.

 

After a short while Baekhyun stopped and made Chanyeol get up, “You’re fucking amazing, I have to reward you somehow”

 

Chanyeol panted but gave Baekhyun a sultry look, “it’s my pleasure your highness, all I want is the royal cock in my ass, sire”

 

“So filthy~” Baekhyun kissed him and went to the nightstand to grab oil. He handed it to Chanyeol, “now be a good servant and stretch your hole, I want to see if it’s worthy enough to be fucked by me”

 

“Your wish is my command, my lord” Chanyeol took off his clothes and got on his elbows and knees. He reached back and poured some oil over his ass before slicking his fingers in it. He then reached back and slid the finger in, he moaned at the sensation. 

 

Baekhyun watched as Chanyeol fingered himself, he was rubbing his slit with his thumb, moaning and giving Chanyeol words of encouragement, “Oh yes...oh yes...think of this cock going inside you...show me how much you want it”

 

Chanyeol gradually slid in more fingers, stopping at three, “aah..please...ah..your...mmmph...high...ahh..ness...I...aah..need...mmm...it...oh fuck”

 

Baekhyun was painfully hard, “oh yeah...get on the bed...on your back, I wanna see your face when you cum”

 

Chanyeol obliged, his leg spread like a whore “as you wish my lord~”

 

Baekhyun entered him, “aahh so tight~”

 

“Ahh just as ah big as I ah remember” Chanyeol took some deep breaths to relax his muscles before he let Baekhyun move inside him.

 

Baekhyun started slow, even rubbing Chanyeol’s balls.

 

It wasn’t long before the bed was creaking and moans could be heard from down the hall.

 

“Oh fuck oh fuck yes Baek more aahh harder oh god oh god right there! Yes fuck!”

 

“Aah Chan oh yes so good fuck shit aahh”

 

Baekhyun jerked Chanyeol’s cock while pounding into his ass.

 

Chanyeol was a moaning mess, leaving scratches up and down Baekhyun’s back. 

 

Baekhyun jerked Chanyeol’s dick faster and Chanyeol pulled Baekhyun in for a sloppy kiss that was more tongues than lips.

 

Baekhyun came first, moaning loudly as he released his load into Chanyeol. He used his hands to bring his lover to orgasm, not even pulling out until Chanyeol covered their stomachs and Baekhyun’s hands in white sticky cum.

 

Baekhyun licked his hand, looking down at Chanyeol.

 

“Aahh, at least wait a bit before round two, love” Chanyeol panted.

 

“But it’s been so long~” Baekhyun whined, pulling out and resting his head on Chanyeol’s chest.

 

Chanyeol wrapped his arms around Baekhyun, “you want us to get married, right?”

 

“Of course, now that Kyungsoo’s lost his head, I only want you here with me”

 

Chanyeol snickered, “Did he really?”

 

“Yeah, was a lot easier than I thought it would be...I just sliced it right off and had his body thrown overboard…”

 

“Well let’s hope you don’t do the same to me”

 

“I won’t...I want you to be here with me forever” Baekhyun snuggled up against Chanyeol’s chest.

 

“I love you”, Chanyeol smiled.

 

“I love you too...my thief”

  
  
  


_**THE END** _


End file.
